A recent audit in California, which closely examined practices in three of the state’s largest metropolitan areas, revealed that over half of the sexual assault kits collected between 2011 and 2013 were never analyzed by crime labs.

This new initiative will enable communities to develop a thorough approach to rape kit testing, investigation and prosecution of sexual violence, training for law enforcement and services for survivors.

As states across the country have opened their legislative sessions since the start of the new year, ENDTHEBACKLOG has been watching closely for rape kit reforms. Starting in 2010, the legislatures in Illinois, Texas and Colorado blazed the trail for mandating the testing of all rape kits booked into police evidence. Other states are beginning to follow their lead to varying degrees.

Thousands of evidence kits collected from rape victims that have sat untested for years in Texas can now be analyzed, thanks to an $11 million budget appropriation earmarked for the Texas Department of Public Safety.